Existing comment:
Mud Volcano: Explosive Change:
In 1870, explorers stood in awe as Mud Volcano spewed mud into the treetops, shaking the ground with each eruption. Two years later it was a pool of bubbling, muddy water. Mud Volcano had blown itself apart!
Sulphur is the Source.
The Smell: Hydrogen sulfide gas rising from Yellowstone's magma chamber causes the rotten-egg smell.
The Mud: Microorganisms, or thermophiles, use this gas as a source of energy, and then help turn the gas into sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid breaks down the rock and soil into mud.
The Colors: Many of the colors you see are vast communities of thermophiles, but some of the yellow is pure sulphur.
When iron mixes with sulphur to form iron sulfide, gray and black swirls sometimes appear in the mud. |